Gaudy Bracelets and Old Friends
by Satan Abraham
Summary: Life in their relatively small, incredibly hot and dry town has been normal, if not a little lonely, since Haruka Nanase left. However, when Nagisa Hazuki spots someone who looks exactly like him, just five years older and with a camel, it's definitely going to be different. [au based off of the ending animation] [multichapter]
1. Chapter One: Makoto

"Mako-chan!"

Makoto Tachibana smiled to himself, finished brushing some excess dust off of a vase, and stood up. Nagisa was running toward his little shop, bangles jingling and earrings bouncing. It had to be a bit painful, those heavy baubles hanging from his ears, but it wasn't Makoto's place to judge. "What's going on?" he asked. Nagisa stopped in front of the shop, flopping his top half down onto the counter and panting overdramatically.

"Hold on," he said, holding up one hand. Makoto waited, patient. This wasn't the first time Nagisa had come rushing to him with news of something that didn't really matter. Makoto listened, though, because he didn't have many customers anyway, and Nagisa's presence always gave his monotonous day a little color. "There's someone new coming through. With a camel."

"Oh?" Makoto asked. "Is it someone important?"

"Well, I saw him," Nagisa said. "And it looks a lot like Haru-chan!"

"Haru?" Makoto asked, dropping the vase. He managed to soften its fall with his foot so that it didn't break. "Are you sure?"

Nagisa nodded, grinning brightly. Makoto grinned too, and then Nagisa reached over the counter and hugged him. "Isn't it great? Haru-chan's back! I haven't seen him _forever_, not for _years _since he left with that group of people! And he has a camel now! Oh, but that's not the main reason I needed to talk to you!"

"What is?" Makoto asked, giving Nagisa a pat on the back and managing to worm his way out of the blond's grip. "I already told you, the guard at the palace will be more receptive to your advances if you tone it down a little."

"No, no, not that," Nagisa said, waving his hand dismissively. "I saw him set up blankets and stuff, and he doesn't have a place to stay! I told him I had him a place to stay, and it's with you, Mako-chan! You have a big enough bedroom, right?"

"Aren't you always talking about how yours is so nice?" Makoto wondered, but he was excited at the prospect. Haru was back! That hadn't been something Makoto had been expecting to happen, and it was… it was good. He hadn't seen Haruka Nanase in years.

"Yeah, but there are always people over," Nagisa said. "Plus, my sisters. I know your little brother and sister are still with your parents, but you've got a _whole _place to yourself-"

"Because I work," Makoto said, leaning on the counter. "I own this place."

"Well, I work too," Nagisa said. Makoto wondered what Nagisa's job entailed, and then decided that he really didn't want to know. "But _please_. I already told him you would. He's coming soon, he just needed to pack up his things. Oh, wait, what are you going to do with his camel?"

Makoto sighed. "I can tie the camel out back," he said. Nagisa smiled and nodded, then glanced back.

"He's coming," he said, his normal high, excited voice somehow muted. Makoto watched, transfixed, as Haruka Nanase came walking up the narrow side street, leading a camel behind him. He had cloth covering the lower half of his face, but Makoto could tell from those eyes that it was Haru.

"Haru?" he asked, a little hesitant at first. Haru looked at him.

"Makoto," he said, and Makoto smiled, leaving the counter behind and going through the door, wrapping Haru in a tight hug. "I can't breathe."

"Oh, oh- I'm sorry, but Haru, it's been such a long time!" Makoto said. He couldn't stop grinning.

Haru nodded, shifting from foot to foot. "Nagisa said you had a room."

Makoto nodded. He took the rope leading the camel from Haru and beckoned for him to enter the shop. "Just go in there and up the stairs. I have a room above the shop," he said, then spent the next few minutes trying to get the animal to follow him. It stayed rooted in place, glaring at Makoto. "I don't think he likes me…"

"That's weird," Nagisa said, taking the rope from Makoto and skipping away. "Usually animals like you!"

"Usually I'm around animals smaller than me," Makoto said, then looked at Haru, who was disappearing into the back of the shop. He felt his face break into a smile again. It felt so good to have Haru back, silent and unexpressive as ever. They had been very close as children – Nagisa, of course, tagging along, even back then he'd worn lots of jewelry and pretty clothes, Makoto had used to think that it was because of his sisters, but he couldn't help but wonder if Nagisa had started to like the prettier look somewhere along the line – but one day, when they were around eleven or twelve, Haru had just… packed up and left. They'd barely had a chance to say goodbye.

It had been the single worst day of Makoto Tachibana's life.

But now Haru was back, and, even though it was hot and Makoto barely had enough water for himself, he could appeal to the court – or, rather the Matsuoka family – for extra, seeing as he was now caring for another person, it was good again. He had never quite gotten over Haru leaving, and now he wouldn't have to.

"His things," he remembered, and as Nagisa came back around, skipping, jewelry jingling and smiling brightly. "Can you watch the shop for thirty seconds?"

"Okay!" Nagisa said, slipping back behind the counter. Makoto hurried around to the back to the camel, which huffed angrily when it saw him. Makoto swallowed and edged around, wondering if he would be able to get Haru's possessions off of the camel without dying. It was… it was totally possible, right? He could just… sneak around in the back and…

And the camel kicked and he jumped, clapping his hands over his mouth to try and hold back a scream. He swallowed and set out to try again. He didn't know why the camel didn't like him. Animals usually _loved _him, he wouldn't think that a larger animal would be the exception.

"Makoto."

Makoto turned and there was Haru. Nagisa must have sent him back. "I had them," Makoto said, and Haru just gave him a look. He took the things off of the camel's back, leaving a blanket. It was a lot of stuff – Makoto didn't think that Haru could even see, over that mountain of things.

"I'll help," Makoto said, giving the camel a wide berth and taking some off the top. Haru turned and headed back to the front of the shop silently, and Makoto followed. He could barely contain his excitement. He was going to have Haru with him again, hopefully for a long time, maybe… it was a bit naïve to think so, but maybe forever.

"I sold a bowl!" Nagisa said to Makoto as he re-entered. "And I think I got my sisters some more business!"

Makoto blinked. "Good," he said. He refrained from asking what Nagisa's sisters did, as always. He was curious about it, of course, but he had an idea that the answer would be a little weird. "Do you know where my room is, Haru?"

Haru nodded, going up the stairs. Makoto followed him, and they ended up in a sparse, open-looking bedroom. There was a bed on one side – wide but not particularly long, something which sometimes annoyed Makoto, who was six feet tall – and a wooden floor. There was a rug in the middle of the room, brown, as well as a desk. His extra money was in the floorboards, but he kept a bit in a box on top of the desk, just in case.

"You can put your things… anywhere, really," Makoto said, laughing awkwardly. Haru nodded again, setting down his things in the middle of the room and crouching down to organize them.

Makoto set down the things he was carrying next to Haru and watched him work for a few moments before remembering the fact that he worked.

"W-well, I need to go take over before Nagisa breaks something! If you need anything, just ask, okay?" Makoto said.

"Okay," Haru said. Makoto smiled at him and made to go downstairs, pausing to just look at him, bent over his things studiously, organizing and tossing some things into a pile that had to be for garbage.

He thought that he would like having Haru here with him.

…

When night came, Makoto ran into something a little awkward.

Haru had made himself a bed with his things, curling up on a corner, using his arm as a pillow. Though Makoto was letting Haru stay, he still felt bad about Haru having to be on the floor.

So, he walked over and poked him. Haru, not quite awake, rolled over to look at him. "Haru?" he said. "Do you want to have the bed?"

"It's your bed," Haru said.

"But, Haru…" Makoto trailed off. Haru turned back on his side and closed his eyes, and Makoto sighed. He went back to his bed, staring at the dark, unmoving form of Haru until he finally drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**Okay, so a long time ago on Tumblr an anon asked me to do a Free! AU based off of the ending animation. And, um, here it is! Except it's going to be a multichapter. With three different POVs, switching off every chapter. So, this will probably be updated every Thursday, so keep a look out!**

**Also, question here – does anyone know what, exactly, Nagisa's doing in the ending animation? The other four are pretty easy to figure out, or at least think up something for, but… Nagisa? **

**If you have an answer, either leave it in a review or message me, either on here or on my Tumblr, which is goddessofthedawn. **


	2. Chapter Two: Gou

Gou Matsuoka checked the lock on her door one more time and slipped out the window.

She had traded one of her maid's clothes for her own – the girl was named Chigusa Hanamura, if Gou remembered right – and thrown a rope out her window so that she could get out. It wasn't that she didn't like palace life with her brother, but she did want to do something other than sit around and gossip all day.

Of course, she did sit in on several official meetings, but they didn't listen to her when she had something to say, so she might as well have been doing nothing.

Either way, now she was dangling several feet above the ground, feet braced on the side of the palace and hands gripping the rope. She inched down, trying not to look at how far away the ground was and trying not to think about how much it would hurt if she fell. She could even die if she landed wrong – if she landed on her head, or her back at the wrong angle…

Despite her inner worries, she made it to the ground safely, despite a little rope burn on her hands. She headed out of the gardens, skirting around the small pond with several fish swimming in it and using the shade of the few trees to get to the outer wall. Normally, she'd dismiss getting over this wall as a lost cause, but earlier she'd noticed a small hole, just barely big enough for her to fit through, near the south corner. She glanced around and, confident that she wasn't being watched, slipped through the rest of the garden to get to the hole.

She had to wriggle a little, not quite expecting her hips to get so stuck, but she made it, scraping her knees a little but basically okay.

Alright. Now she could explore.

Her feet were bare, and that was her first mistake – though it was quieter, it was cold at night, and her feet were already freezing. It was quiet, too, apart from the occasional shouted word from one of the common people's houses. Dirty, cold, and dry – it seemed to describe life outside the wall perfectly.

She hurried along through the streets, wondering if she could find a place to stay for the night so that she could really explore – in the day it would be warmer, and more interesting, and far less dangerous. She looked to be in a fairly seedy area right now… there was a lot of noise filtering out of the place she was standing next to, and nobody respectable would be awake at this hour.

A tall, red-haired young man stumbled out as soon as Gou passed and ran straight into her, nearly knocking her down.

"Whoa," he said, righting her. He looked a bit drunk, but he seemed to be able to function, at least. "Sorry about-" he cut himself off, looking closer at what he could see of her face with the light from the place he'd just exited. He darkened a bit.

"What?" Gou asked, a little worried – did he recognize her as Rin's little sister? She wasn't all that public, but…

"You're really cute," he breathed, then blinked, straightening. For his impressive stature – he had to have broken six feet, and from how solid he'd felt when he'd bumped into her, he _had _to be complete muscle…

"Sei-chan!" someone called, running out of the building as well. It was a small boy with golden hair and a lot of jewelry – more than Gou wore on a normal day, and far flashier. "You're leaving already?"

'Sei-chan' nodded, his expression hardening. "Got some stuff to take care of," he said. The golden-haired boy sighed and noticed Gou. He brightened and placed himself in front of her, dark red eyes glinting.

"Hi!" he said, smiling brightly. "I'm Nagisa."

He held out his hand and Gou took his cautiously, looking at all the bracelets hanging on his wrist. She had a good idea of what went on in that building now, if the look of this teenage boy was anything to go off of.

"G- Kou," she said. "I'm Kou."

She'd almost forgotten that she could get away with calling herself Kou out here – there was nobody out here to know her real name and call her 'Gou' or anyone to lecture her about how her name was majestic and she shouldn't try to change it.

"Seijuurou Mikoshiba," the redhead said, and Gou looked away from Nagisa's jewelry to study him again. He wasn't wearing much in the way of clothes, really; his arms were bare, and she could see his biceps and _wow _were they nice. Perfectly sculpted, and his triceps were just as nice… she'd be willing to bet that his deltoids were fabulous, too…

She didn't notice that he was talking to her for another few minutes.

"Oh, sorry, what were you saying?" she asked. He blinked and, blushing a little, continued.

"I was wondering what a cute girl like you was doing out so late?" he asked. "There are people around here that would try to take advantage of that, you know. With you being so cute."

"Thank you," she said. "I was just looking for a place to stay-"

"I have an extra room," he blurted out before she could finish the sentence. He paused, darkening and rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. "I mean, you could take the bed and I could sleep in the kitchen with a blanket. It's not that far."

Gou had to think about it for a few moments – was she really going to accept an invitation from a young man that she'd just met, one that could obviously overpower her with little to no effort whatsoever on his part?

Nagisa noticed her hesitation and latched onto her arm, practically purring into her ear. "Don't worry, Gou-chan-"

"It's Kou."

"Sei-chan's a nice guy! He won't hurt you," he said. Gou sighed, wondering how he'd caught that 'G' she'd just barely said when she'd introduced herself. "My sisters would kill him if he ever hurt a girl, anyway."

"Gou-kun, was it?" Seijuurou asked. He hadn't stopped looking at her the entire time they'd been in the same shady area in front of Nagisa's workplace. It was kind of flattering, actually.

"Please don't call me that," Gou said, but it didn't have much conviction to it. She was fairly certain that he was going to keep calling her that, and it didn't really matter, but if it weren't for Nagisa he probably wouldn't have even noticed the 'G.'

"I won't try anything," Seijuurou said, and Gou bit her lip, then nodded. "Great! Come on. You'll be safer with me, anyway. Nobody would try anything with me around."

"You're very tall," Gou said, eying what she could see of his body. "And it seems like you have nice… your arms are very… the biceps are well-defined."

He smiled at her, still blushing a little, and Nagisa waved good-bye to them as they headed off, Seijuurou's hands in his pockets, keeping an eye on her at all times until he ran straight into a wall. Then he decided to look where he was going, and Gou watched him. His face was rather serious when he wasn't looking at her, and it was a handsome face, she had to admit.

He had a few rooms in a building with a few others, it seemed – he took her up a few sets of stairs and then they were on the top floor, a breeze blowing through the window. He muttered a curse under his breath and shut it.

"I'll show you to the bed," he said. "If you need anything, wake me up. I'll be… I'll be out here, on these cushions. Tomorrow morning we can get this sorted out, alright?"

Gou nodded, and he pushed aside a curtain to show a small bedroom. There was a bed in the middle, a few more curtains draped around it and several heaps of blankets on top. Gou picked a few of the blankets off of the bed and handed them to Seijuurou. "You might get cold," she said. He swallowed and nodded. She was fairly certain that if she could see him, he would be blushing again.

"I'm uh. I'll be out there. If you want to borrow a shirt to sleep in or something, just take one," he said, hurrying out of the room with the blankets. Gou headed for the dresser in the corner, digging through clothes until she found a shirt that would probably go down to her knees. She got dressed for bed quickly, not wanting him to walk in on her or anything, and had buried herself in the many blankets by the time he knocked on the wall.

"Yes?" she said, and he poked his head and a candle through the curtain. From what she could see of his shoulders – deltoids were great, as she'd thought – he was shirtless.

"Just making sure you're okay," he said, laughing a little. "Looks like you are. Um. Night."

"Goodnight," she said, and he snuffed out the candle.

She buried herself in the blankets, immersed in his scent and feeling more comfortable than she ever had in the palace.

* * *

**Yeah it's pretty obvious what the pairings in this fic are going to be.**

**But, um, anyway, I just decided to make Princess Gou because, even though she's not in the ending, you can't have Free! without Gou Matsuoka. Also Seijuurou, because he is lovely. Rin, Rei, and Nitori will show up as the story progresses. **

**But, yeah, the last POV will be revealed next week!**


	3. Chapter Three: Rei

Rei Ryugazaki had just gotten off of work and was sort of regretting coming into this part of town.

It was a shortcut, they'd told him. He'd be home in half the time.

While it might be a shortcut, he definitely was not going to be home in half the time, because now that golden-haired boy was chatting his ear off, steering him through what had to be a brothel and toward a back room. "I promise I won't let my sisters in unless they're totally clothed, Rei-chan!" the golden-haired one chirped. "It's morning, sure, but sometimes they're a bit tired from working all night!"

Rei briefly wondered how this one could be so chipper so early in the morning, then decided that he didn't really want to know. What he did want to know, however, was how he knew Rei's name.

"How do you know my name?' Rei asked, adjusting his glasses. The golden-haired one smiled brightly.

"Because I like you!" he said. "Oh! But I bet you don't know my name. I always forget to introduce myself. I'm Nagisa Hazuki."

"Oh," Rei said after a brief pause. "It's nice to meet you. Please let me go home. I have another shift in six hours and I would like to get some rest. The optimal amount of sleep is eight to ten hours, of course, but this week has been busy, with several guards coming down with some illness and I am having to work even harder. Today I'm actually in with Rin Matsuoka himself-"

"Rei-chan."

"What?"

"If you want to sleep, you can just take one of our back rooms," Nagisa said. Rei backed up a few steps, glancing nervously around. "We were going there anyway, right?"

"I- er- please-"

And then he was sitting on an admittedly comfortable bed in a back room, Nagisa standing before him with his hands clasped in front of him. "Just lie back and nap! I promise I won't let anyone come in!"

Rei blinked and, a little hesitant, leaned back in the bed. He kept himself propped up on his elbows, and Nagisa left the room, giving him a little wave and hanging something on the curtains that separated this room with the rest of the place.

Feeling a bit more comfortable, Rei took off his shoes, glasses, hat, and jacket, lying down on his side. He couldn't relax even if he wanted to, the smells coming from the other rooms, as well as the noises, were very distracting. He licked his lips and closed his eyes, knowing that he wasn't going to be able to sleep at all.

…

Surprisingly, he was able to sleep, and woke up approximately four hours later, woozy and with someone's fingers running through his hair.

He jerked, sitting up and knocking Nagisa off of the bed. "What are you doing?" he asked, fairly certain that he was bright red. Nagisa shrugged and smiled.

"You just looked so peaceful, Rei-chan! Also, your hair is so soft! What do you use on it?"

"Uh, I wash it ev- that's not the point!" Rei said, averting his gaze. He got out of the bed. "I need to go."

"But you still have two hours left before your shift," Nagisa pointed out. "Stay here and talk to me! Mako-chan works all the time, and now that Haru-chan's back it's _all _he talks about. I love Haru-chan, but sometimes I want to talk about other things. It's like, he's right there, and you're going on and on about how nice it is to have him back."

"Oh," Rei said, reaching for his glasses. Nagisa pushed them into his hand absentmindedly. "Do you have many other friends?"

"Of course," Nagisa said, but he looked slightly uncomfortable. "There's… my sisters, of course, even though they can be super annoying, and Sei-chan, and now Gou-chan, too! I remember when we used to play with Rin-chan, too. When we were all little and his nanny would take him out into the city."

"Y-you mean the Matsuoka heir?" Rei asked, eyes wide. Nagisa looked at him, smiled, and nodded. "You were friends with him?"

"Yeah! He and Haru-chan always got along in a weird way… Haru-chan loves water, that's why he left, so that he could find water, and Rin-chan's always had so much water on hand that it was almost like fate! Except he's sort of a dick. Mako-chan's much nicer to Haru-chan, even if he can't give him all the water he wants," Nagisa said, nodding his head. "Have you ever seen Rin-chan's pool?"

"No," Rei said, shaking his head. "I have always been on the outer perimeter of the palace, although today I will be escorting the Matsuoka heir around as he does his daily activities."

"You'll probably see it then," Nagisa said, nodding. "He used to swim all the time. Hey, if you get the chance, you should tell him that Haru-chan is back!"

"Alright," Rei said, although he did not have any intention of interrupting his employer's day. He hadn't actually ever spoken to 'Rin-chan,' but it made him a bit nervous, to think about speaking to him so casually. He wasn't like Nagisa, who not only filled with silence with so much chatter it was unreal, but was easy to talk to. No, from what Rei Ryugazaki had seen of Rin Matsuoka, he was a lot more difficult to talk to than Nagisa Hazuki.

The two of them talked for another hour and a half, and then Rei excused himself to go back to work. He was smiling to himself as he headed back to work. As strange as Nagisa was, Rei enjoyed his company. It was a bit strange, to enjoy the company of someone who worked at a brothel, but…

But Rei couldn't stop thinking about him, and about how nice he was to everyone, and to how he seemed to get along with everyone. He couldn't even stop thinking about it when he, along with Aiichiro Nitori, were walking behind Rin, presumably keeping an eye out of anything that might possibly harm him.

He couldn't stop thinking about it so much, in fact, that he ran straight into a wall instead of turning. Rin turned.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked, shark teeth flashing in a brief smirk. Rei flushed.

"I, ah, I apologize," he said. Before he could stop himself, he continued. "Nagisa says that a Haru-chan is back and he wanted you to know."

Rin froze, eyes widening. "H-haru?" he said quietly, speaking to himself.

"M-matsuoka-senpai?" he asked. Rin didn't answer, instead balling his hands into fists and pushing his way past both of them.

"What's he doing?' Rei asked as he ran beside Nitori, trying to keep up with Rin, who was slowly discarding his clothes as he went. "And why is he stripping?"

"He's going to swim," Nitori panted. "Oh, he's going to be in there for a while, I think. He looked mad."

Rei swallowed and kept his eyes on Rin, who was by now completely naked. He wondered how anyone not accustomed to seeing the naked Matsuoka heir would react. Of course, this area of the palace was generally quite deserted… still, he felt a slight blush rise on his cheeks as he ran, watching Rin and hearing Nitori call out to him every five or so seconds.

* * *

**This is a bit short and also a bit late, but, yeah! Third POV is Rei!**


	4. Chapter Four: Makoto

It was different with Haru back.

First of all, it was nice to have someone to eat meals with and someone to speak to apart from Nagisa – and Makoto really did like having Haru back. It was just… a lot different. The biggest issue was the water one. He'd applied for more, but so far he hadn't been contacted back. While it was true that he had only put in his application three days ago…

Either way, having Haru around did help out. Haru could cook, for one, and that was something that Makoto had always struggled with. Even though everything Haru made _somehow _had a fishy taste to it. It was a little weird. But at least it wasn't burned, or raw, or just plain disgusting.

"Haru! I'm going to go shopping! Do you want to come with?" Makoto asked, poking his head into the bedroom. He'd closed the shop for the day, as he usually did on Sundays, so he didn't have to worry about any sort of business that he might miss, so there really was no reason why Haru shouldn't come with him.

Haru looked like he was considering. Makoto pressed on.

"C'mon Haru! It'll be fun. We can stop by the pond outside of the palace, if you want."

Haru stood up immediately, and Makoto smiled. Even after all these years, Haruka Nanase was still exactly the same.

The two of them set off, Makoto greeting everyone as they passed, Haru pulling him along so that they could get to the pond faster. Makoto wasn't quite sure what Haru was planning on doing once they got to the pond – maybe he was going to try and jump in? It wasn't very deep… maybe two or three feet, at the most, but that didn't usually stop Haru… maybe he shouldn't have mentioned the pond. He was pretty sure that jumping into the pond was illegal.

Oops.

Well, maybe Haru wouldn't jump in the pond. Maybe he'd just sit by it and look at the water.

Yeah, no, he was definitely going to jump into the pond.

Makoto, half-heartedly trying to get to the market so that he could actually do what he'd come out to do, was pulled throughout the streets until they stood before the palace. It was huge. Makoto stood in awe for a few seconds before realizing that Haru was taking his clothes off.

"Wait- Haru, you can't do that here!" he said, grabbing Haru around the shoulders with one arm and forcing his pants back up with the other. "I said we could see it, not strip and jump into it!"

Haru turned to look at him, and his face was so close it made Makoto blush a little. "Makoto," he said. "You can go get your shopping done. Leave me here."

"No, you're going to get in trouble," Makoto said, closing his eyes and tugging Haru away from the pond. He was bigger and stronger than Haru, so why was it so hard to move him? "I don't want you to get in trouble just as you got back! I missed you! I don't want you thrown in jail right away."

Haru hesitated, and Makoto tugged him a few steps back.

Someone tapped on Makoto's shoulder and he turned his head to see someone even taller than him. "Y-yes?" Makoto said.

"I can watch him, if you want to go do stuff," the guy said. He ran a hand through bright orange hair and sighed. "Have you ever met a girl, and then it turns out that they were a runaway princess, and then you have to return her to the palace without even a kiss?"

"Um," Makoto said. "No. But it would be a big help if you could watch him."

"No problem," the guy said. "Seijuurou Mikoshiba."

"Makoto Tachibana. Thanks!" With that, he pulled Haru towards Seijuurou and hurried away. He only needed to get a few things, so it shouldn't take that long. Really, he'd wanted Haru to come along so that they could spend some time together, but apparently Haru was just going to spend his time with the pond. It was a little disheartening, but… as long as Haru was happy, it was okay.

His shopping didn't take long, and by the time he'd come back, Haru and Seijuurou were gone.

Makoto, naturally, freaked out.

Had Haru gotten away and gone straight for the pond? If that was so, did Seijuurou go in after him or just try to talk him out of it? If it was the first one, then both of them had probably been locked up. If it was just the second, though… that would be a lot better. He'd go talk to Nagisa. Nagisa always seemed to get his way into places where he wasn't supposed to be, maybe Nagisa could get him into the palace and to Rin. They'd be friends of a sort when they were younger, surely Rin would listen to him? Especially if he brought up Haru.

Either way, he needed to get in before he did any of that. He dropped his purchases beside the pond and raced for Nagisa's home, praying that today was a day that he'd decided to stay home instead of wandering around.

People just went in, didn't they? Makoto still wasn't _quite _sure what Nagisa and his sisters did, but he had a better idea now than what he'd had previously. Either way, it was for Haru, so he needed to barge in anyway.

He pushed his way into the building, nearly hitting his head on the doorframe, and stumbled his way through the main room. His nose was assaulted with smells – perfume and smoke and another scent, a more primal scent that he couldn't quite place.

"Mako-chan? What are you doing here? We mostly do this at night, you know."

"N-nagisa!" Makoto said, breathing out a sigh of relief. "I need your help. I- Haru- I left him with someone and-"

"Who?" Nagisa asked.

"Er, I don't really remember – Mikoshiba? Something like that? But, anyway-"

"Oh, Sei-chan?" Nagisa said. "He'll take care of Haru!"

"No! No, they're gone! I think Haru got himself in trouble somehow, and I need you to help me get into the palace so that we can talk to Rin!"

Nagisa pondered it, tilting his head to the side, pursing his lips. "Alright," he said. "I'll probably be able to do it, even though you are really big and that will make it harder. But I can probably do it. Ooh! I'll need to dress you up, though."

"W-what? Why?" Makoto asked, looking over Nagisa's outfit one more time. He was pretty sure that he didn't want to look like that. But, if it got Haru free… "I don't think that's needed…"

"Oh, Mako-chan, it totally is," Nagisa assured him, grabbing onto him and pushing him toward the back. "I have _tons _of stuff in my room. I'm going to have to just modify your clothes, because my stuff's way too small for you, but you can still wear jewelry… say, would you be opposed to me piercing your ears?"

"Yes! I would be very opposed!"

Nagisa sighed. "I might have some old clip-ons, then," he said. "You're a lot bigger, so you can wear more!"

"W-what?"

* * *

**Poor, poor Makoto… but, yeah, here we go! Next chapter is Gou's POV, and we might see part of Nagisa's plot to get Makoto inside. It's more likely we'll see that in Rei's POV, though.**


	5. Chapter Five: Gou

"I still can't believe you did that," Rin muttered, crossing his arms. "You know how panicked everyone was? We were looking for you for ages, and then Ai _finally _finds you-"

"You call him Ai?"

"Shut up," Rin said. "Anyway, go-"

"If you're going to tell me to go to my room, I'm going to laugh," Gou said. "You're not my mom, Rin. You're my brother. And I just want to go check out the prisoners they brought in, because it's going to be way more interesting than whatever you're doing."

Rin was calling after her as she stalked down to the dungeons, arms crossed over her chest. She did love her brother, but he could be so overbearing sometimes. Especially when she wanted to do stuff – okay, when Rin had gone out of the palace he'd gotten kidnapped once or twice, but nothing bad had happened to her. And he'd been really little when he'd gotten out, so it was no wonder he'd gotten kidnapped.

Either way, she was going to go check out the prisoners.

On the way down, she ran into a guard – blue-haired, glasses, awkward-looking – escorting Seijuurou Mikoshiba out of the dungeons.

"Gou-kun!" he said, startled. She didn't even bother correcting him on her name.

"Seijuurou," she said. "Hi! Wait, you're one of the prisoners?"

"Well…" he said. "I was trying to get him out of the pond, so they're letting me go."

Gou blinked. Out of the… she'd definitely have to get the full story on that one. She turned to the guard. "Leave him with me," she said. The guard hesitated. "I know him. It'll be fine."

The guard bowed and hurried away, and Gou took Seijuurou's arm, noticing the slight blush that he gained when she did so.

"We can talk in the kitchen," Gou said, tugging him along. He complied, and she decided that she could forgive him for letting Nitori see her. It wasn't like he'd known she was a princess, after all.

The kitchen was bustling with cooks, getting things ready for lunch. Gou managed to snag a loaf of bread and handed it to Seijuurou.

"So," she said. "What happened?"

He sighed. "I was outside the palace, because I wanted to see you and apologize, and this guy tried to strip and get into the pond and this other guy was holding him back and saying something about errands. So I figured I'd hold the guy back. Problem was, I couldn't hold him back and he went into the pond. So… I went into the pond to try and pull him out."

"And you told them that you were only trying to get him out, so they let you go?" Gou guessed, and Seijuurou nodded, grinning a little.

"Right," he said. Gou smiled at him, and he blushed. "I, uh, guess I don't have any chance with someone as cute as you since you're the princess and all?"

"Rin might throw a fit," Gou mused. "But… even if you were secretly a prince, he'd throw a fit anyway. You should stay for the rest of day. Ooh! Wait! I have an idea."

He leaned forward, clutching the loaf of bread. He was still blushing a little, and his blush grew when she leaned closer to him, their noses nearly touching over the table.

"You're going to be my personal guard," she said. "And then we can be friends, and you can stay in the castle! You can have a room next to mine!"

"And we can have an illicit relationship," he said.

She laughed a little. "Maybe one day," she said. "But, what do you say? Can I hire you?"

"Yes!" Seijuurou said, maybe a bit too enthusiastically. Gou nodded and stood up. "Uh, what do you want me to do with this bread?"

"Keep it," Gou said, waving her hand dismissively. "Or you can give it to the prisoner when we go down there. You are going to be with me the entire day, after all."

"And in the room next to you at night," Seijuurou said. Gou nodded and smiled at him again. She liked making him blush – it was cute, in a way, to see this big, tall, muscular man blush like a schoolgirl at the slightest provocation. "Alright. Let's go."

"So, who is the prisoner?" Gou asked. She had a feeling who it was, but… he couldn't be back, could he? He'd left so long ago, and…

Seijuurou shrugged. "The guy that was trying to pull him away from the pond was named Makoto Tachibana, I remember. Kind of a girly name."

It had to be Haruka Nanase.

Gou wondered if Rin knew – he had been a lot more irritable lately, and that was usually his way of concealing his true feelings toward something. Either way, she was going to go see Haruka.

"Let's go," she said, and Seijuurou nodded. Gou led the way down to the dungeons, Seijuurou just behind her. Gou kept up a steady stream of chatter, a little nervous about bringing Seijuurou back down to the dungeons. Sure, she was the princess and she could do what she wanted, but… the guards could always just throw him right back in. And Rin would probably be less likely to let him go if he knew about Seijuurou's feelings for Gou.

But, Seijuurou was her personal guard, and he was coming with her.

It took a bit of convincing to get her into the dungeon – a lot of, "I'm the princess, and I demand to see who was brought in" mixed with some "Don't you want to let me in?"

Eventually, however, they got in, Seijuurou sending suspicious glanced toward any prisoner that so much as looked at Gou.

At the back of the dungeon was Haruka Nanase, sitting on the floor, staring out of his cell. Gou rushed forward and gripped the bars of the cell, ignoring Seijuurou's calls of "Gou-kun!" and staring.

Haruka Nanase slowly lifted his head to meet her eyes. "Haruka," she said, voice barely a whisper. "You really are back."

* * *

**And next week we get to see how Nagisa and Makoto's plan works out~**


	6. Chapter Six: Rei

Rei Ryugazaki was not about to tell Rin Matsuoka that he had just left a prisoner with her sister, so he decided to patrol the perimeter of the castle.

Was that Nagisa's head peeking over the wall?

Yes, because now there was waving and, "Let us in Rei-chan!"

Rei hurried over, arms crossed tightly over his chest. "Why didn't you try the front gate?" he hissed. Nagisa sighed.

"They didn't even _look _at us! And I made Mako-chan so pretty!" he said. "Please let us in. We just need to talk to Haru-chan. And if anyone sees us, we can say that we're here to entertain the guards!"

Rei blushed a dark red at the thought. He could only see Nagisa's head and arm, but he was certainly wearing a lot of jewelry. And while he did normally wear quite a bit of jewelry, he looked especially made up today.

Rei had always had a hard time saying no to Nagisa Hazuki, he mused as he let him and his rather tall, would be imposing if he weren't blushing and trying not to look at Rei, friend through a side gate. Nagisa was walking like he owned the place, a swing in his hips and a smile on his face.

"Wow!" he said. "I remember when we were kinds and friends with Rin-chan, but I haven't been back here in a while!"

"Nagisa," Makoto said. He looked nervous, twisting a bracelet on his arm back and forth. "I think you should be a little quiet-"

"Wow!" Nagisa said, flouncing over to a pond. "Look at the fish, Mako-chan!"

Rei found himself smiling and immediately put a stop to it.

"I'll take you to your friend, and nothing more," Rei said. Nagisa smiled brightly at him, and he glanced away, flushing lightly. "Stop that."

"Stop what? I'm just smiling," Nagisa said, grabbing onto Makoto's hand and tugging him toward the palace. Rei hurried after them, already cursing his decision to let them in. Really, he could have pretended that he'd never seen them and just… walked away. Just walked away and left them out there to try something else.

But there was no harm in them seeing their friend, was there?

As soon as he stepped into the palace, Nagisa and Makoto were drawn into a crowd of guards. Nagisa took it in stride, smiling and dancing around. Makoto stood, frozen, bright red, tugging at Nagisa's clothes when he got close enough and trying to get his attention.

Rei would leave, but he felt a sort of responsibility for the two of them, Nagisa especially. After all, Makoto was rather large. At least six feet tall, if not taller. Around the height of the man that he'd left with the princess.

He was still regretting that as well. He probably should not have just left the princess in the care of someone just released from the dungeons, even if it was just a misunderstanding. Sometimes misunderstandings turned out to not be misunderstandings at all, and were instead exactly what one thought them to be in the first place.

"You two should come with me," Rei said, grabbing onto Nagisa's hand, who laughed cheerfully and grabbed onto Makoto's hand, bracelets jingling. "Stop that."

"Oh, Rei-chan," Nagisa said, smiling brightly. "You're so cute when you get flustered."

"W-what? I'm not flustered. Stop that," Rei said, pulling on his hand tighter. Nagisa somehow managed to work up his sex appeal even when being dragged through the palace, smiling gaily at everyone who passed. Makoto looked like he was about to die of embarrassment.

Rei knew how he felt.

The rest of the way to the dungeons was as silent as he could manage it. Nagisa smiled at every person they happened upon, successfully causing them to avert their eyes and hurry away as quickly as they could manage to. While it worked, it also had the unfortunate side effect of making Rei extremely flustered as well.

They actually made it into the dungeon without anything bad happening. They didn't even see Nitori, who would definitely run to the Prince Matsuoka. Rei had thought that he'd seen him, but he'd apparently been mistaken, because when he'd looked again, there had been absolutely nobody there.

The princess was in the dungeon, the redhead he'd left with her standing awkwardly off to the side. When he saw Rei and his parade of dancers, he tapped on the princess's shoulder. She glanced back.

"Seijuurou is my personal guard now," she said. Rei blinked, but he nodded.

"These two simply want to see the prisoner," he said. Nagisa breezed past him, pulling Makoto along after him.

"Hi Gou-chan!" he said brightly. Gou glanced at him quickly, then did a double take and looked closer "Nagisa, remember? I'm the one who set you and Mister Fire-crotch up!"

Seijuurou turned a dark red and looked like he wanted to hit Nagisa.

"How do you know his hair isn't… you know what, never mind," Gou said. She looked at Makoto, who was frozen, staring at Haruka Nanase. Haruka was sitting on the floor with his back to the wall, arms holding his knees to his chest, staring at a puddle of water on the dungeon floor.

"Haru-chan!" Nagisa said brightly, directing his attention to the prisoner. "We came to break you out!"

"You said you just wanted to see him!" Rei said. He was going to get in so much trouble for this. He'd be lucky if he wasn't thrown in the cell right next to Haruka Nanase and his two friends. The only two who would walk out of here would be Gou Matsuoka and her new bodyguard, and maybe just Gou.

Nagisa glanced back at him, puzzled. "Did I?' he said. Haruka didn't look up from the pool.

"Haru?" Makoto said, tentative. "Are you okay?"

Haruka didn't look up.

"What the hell's going on down here?" a very irritable voice said, and Rei felt his heart sink into his chest. Standing in the doorway was Rin Matsuoka, Aichiirou Nitori at his heels. Rei gulped. Nagisa waved. Makoto didn't take his eyes off of Haruka, who didn't take his eyes off of the puddle of water. Seijuurou shifted so that he was more in front of Gou, who rolled her eyes.

It was Nagisa who saved them, strangely enough. "Hi Rin-chan!" he said brightly. "Me and Mako-chan are here to dance for you! I thought it would be a fun thing to do! Rei-chan and Sei-chan let us in!"

Rin sent a confused look toward Seijuurou, who shrugged, and then one toward Rei, who darkened.

Finally, he scowled. "Whatever," he said. "But stay away from the prisoner. I still have business with him. Come with me."

* * *

**Sorry this is late! I had things to do yesterday, so I couldn't quite get it done~**


	7. Chapter Seven: Makoto

Makoto Tachibana had never been so embarrassed in his _life._

He hid behind Nagisa as best as he could, but Nagisa was so much smaller than him and, on top of that, wouldn't stand still. He was just sashaying after Rin, smiling at Rei every so often and making him blush.

All Makoto had wanted as to get Haru back. He'd just wanted to have a nice life with Haru. But, as well as Haru himself being complicated when it came to water, Nagisa was making his life far more exciting than he had ever wanted. Every time he moved his head or his arms, the jewelry jingled. He could feel the bit of makeup that Nagisa had smeared on his face. As well as this, Nagisa had modified his clothes so that they could hardly be called clothes anymore.

He couldn't even look at someone without blushing.

He caught Nagisa's eye and Nagisa jerked his head back, toward the dungeon. Then he winked. About fifteen times.

It took a few more winks for Makoto to get it – Nagisa was trying to tell him something, but _what_? – but eventually he did. He slipped back, Nagisa chattering loud enough to mask his disappearance. Rei saw him, and looked conflicted, but Makoto sent what he hoped was a pleading look toward Rei, and he just followed Nagisa.

Makoto headed back to the dungeon. Seijuurou and Gou were still there, Gou trying to get something out of Haru. Seijuurou glanced at him as he entered.

"I need to get Haru out," Makoto said. Seijuurou hesitated.

"Gou-kun, I'm going to go see if I can get my hands on some keys," he said, and Gou nodded absently.

"I'll be fine with Makoto," she said. She glanced up at him. "Remember when you used to come and play with Rin all the time? My handmaid had a crush on you. You helped her when she fell down and skinned her knee once."

"O-oh," Makoto said. He switched his gaze back to Haru. "Has he said anything?"

"Not since I've seen him," Gou said. "Seijuurou would be able to tell you, he's been with him nearly the whole time."

Makoto sighed. "I shouldn't have made him come with me. He was fine back at the shop, and I coerced him into this…" he ran a hand through his hair.

Another guard came back then, one that Makoto didn't know. "The new guy said to give you these," he said, tossing the keys. They flew toward Makoto, arching up and catching a bit of light. He was almost mesmerized by the glint of light against the metal, and then they hit him in the forehead and he stumbled back a bit, surprised. The guard he didn't recognize snorted and left.

Hands shaking a little, suddenly aware of how _dark _and _creepy _the dungeon was, Makoto unlocked the cell. He pushed it open gently, keeping his eyes on Haru.

Once he realized that, yes, the door was opening, he rushed toward Haru, wrapping his arms around the quiet boy. "Haru!" he said. "You're okay, right? You're not hurt? They didn't hurt you? I-"

"Makoto," Haru said, and Makoto froze, looking at him. Haru was staring at him with that fierce intensity he always had. "You're in the puddle."

Makoto glanced down and, sure enough, his knee was in the puddle that Haru had been staring at. "Oh," Makoto said, letting go of Haru and getting out of the puddle. He stood up, pulling Haru up with him. Haru didn't resist. He just let it happen, like he was a doll.

"I wonder how long Nagisa can distract them," Gou mused. "If you go up the stairs out of the dungeon and take a left, there's a side door by the poo-"

"We'll just go out the way we came in," Makoto said hurriedly. Haru perked up immediately, and Makoto sighed again. It was like everything was working against him. "Come on, Haru."

He grabbed onto Haru's arm and tugged him, but Haru refused to budge.

"Kou," he said, and Gou looked shocked. "Where is the pool?"

"J-just up the stairs and take a left. If you just keep going straight, it's right there," she said. Haru took off.

"Why?" Makoto asked, half to himself, as he followed Haru.

Haru was fast, and leaving his clothes everywhere, so it wasn't like Makoto couldn't follow him. However, by the time Makoto cracked open the door to the pool, Haru was in the water, floating on his back. Makoto stood at the edge of the pool, wondering how long it would take to cajole Haru out and if Nagisa could keep entertaining Rin and the guards for roughly three weeks.

"Haru…" Makoto started. "I'm sure we can reconnect with Rin… please come out so that we can go home… _Haru, please."_

Haru actually looked at him at that, and Makoto swallowed and continued.

"If you keep doing this, you'll just get arrested again. You'll get the princess in trouble, too, probably, and me. Nagisa too, though I bet he could get out of it like he gets out of everything… please, Haru, just get out of the pool," Makoto said. Haru turned over and swam to the edge, and Makoto felt a sliver of hope.

"Come in with me," Haru said, and Makoto laughed nervously.

"No, Haru, I can't-"

Haru pulled him in, and Makoto went with an undignified shriek. Haru clapped a hand over his mouth and pulled him under the water.

Makoto struggled, but Haru shook his head. Both of them were under the water now – Haru with one hand over Makoto's mouth, Makoto with his eyes squeezed shut after the initial shock of the things.

When Haru let him up, he was gasping for air. "H-haru," he said.

"There were guards," Haru said. "They would have seen you."

Makoto's mouth fell open in an 'O' of understanding. He struggled out of the wet clothes that Nagisa had mutilated, letting the jewelry, golden paint already chipping off and revealing the dull gray metal beneath, sink to the bottom of the pool.

"They won't think we're in here. We have more time," Haru said, swimming freestyle to the other end of the pool. Makoto was left, stunned and naked, on the other side of the pool.

What were they going to do about clothes when they left? Haru's clothes had probably been confiscated and his were floating around in the pool.

Though he couldn't help but worry about it, he tried to push his worries aside. Maybe Haru was right. Maybe they did have time to swim. It was good to see Haru so calm, so happy. Makoto hadn't been able to provide the water that he needed, and here… he had that. They could stand to stay a few more minutes, if only to make Haru happy.

Because, if there was one thing Makoto Tachibana had figured out about his life, it was that its purpose was to make Haruka Nanase happy.

* * *

**After this 'get Haru out of jail' arc there's going to be another mini-story arc, probably more focused on Rei and Nagisa more than anyone else, and then maybe one more, and then… conclusion?**

**Something like that. **


	8. Chapter Eight: Gou

The first thing Gou Matsuoka saw upon entering the throne room was Nagisa Hazuki dancing.

He was mesmerizing, jewelry and skin shining with an almost inhuman glow, face in an expression of blissful concentration.

Everyone in the throne room was staring, eyes wide and jaws dropped. Seijuurou stopped in his tracks when he entered. Rin looked nervous, though not as nervous as Rei Ryugazaki, who excused himself just as Gou and Seijuurou entered.

Nagisa made a half-turn, saw Gou and Seijuurou, and stopped. Everyone in the room came back to life then, blinking and wondering how, exactly, this small golden-haired boy was so good at dancing.

"I'm sure you already know," Gou said. "But as soon as we stepped out of the dungeon the prisoner escaped. His friend broke him out. I had Seijuurou check the pool, because of the prisoner's previous misdemeanor, as well as the clothes strewn through the halls. That was just a false trail, though."

"Pool room was empty," Seijuurou said. "No friend or prisoner. Somewhere around here, there's a naked Haruka Nanase running around."

There was a silence. Then Nagisa burst out laughing.

"I'm going now," he said. "Oh my god, Haru-chan is so funny."

As he passed Gou, he mouthed, "He's in the pool and naked?"

Gou nodded.

Nagisa snorted with laughter again and continued out of the hall.

Rin scowled. "Of course he runs off the first chance he gets," he muttered. "Of course he doesn't even let us race. And dragging Makoto along with him.."

Gou excused herself and Seijuurou then, not quite wanting to listen to Rin mutter about Haruka Nanase for three hours, and headed for the pool.

"Go get two extra guard uniforms," she instructed Seijuurou on the way there. "One large, and one… oh, better get two large just in case? Okay?"

Seijuurou, blushing a little, nodded. "On it."

Gou was alone the rest of the way to the pool. The trail of clothes had been picked up, or she would have just given those to Haruka instead of having Seijuurou steal him a uniform. It would be a lot easier to get him out that way as well; they were searching somewhere for a naked Haruka Nanase and a Makoto Tachibana covered in jewelry and makeup, not two new guards! Boy, were they getting a lot of new guards lately!

Is what people would, presumably, be thinking when they looked at Haruka and Makoto in guard uniforms. That is, if they were idiots. In actuality, they would probably recognize them right off the bat. But it would be better for them to blend in anyway, and it wasn't like she had much else to give them.

What she did not expect, however, was to see Nagisa Hazuki strip everything from his trim, golden, dancers body and jump in the pool with them.

She stood there for a moment, mortified, and then Makoto saw her. He went bright red and tapped on Nagisa's shoulder.

Nagisa turned around and saw her. "Oh! Gou-chan!" he said, grinning and lifting himself half out of the water to wave enthusiastically. At least his clothes were neatly in a pile by the door, instead of scattered throughout the hallways or sopping wet beside the pool.

"Haru pulled me in," Makoto said apologetically.

Haruka didn't say anything.

Gou sighed and wondered, exactly, how much trouble everyone would be if Rin walked in just then. She had a feeling that the answer was a lot, especially considering the mess they were making of his pool.

"I have the uniforms!" Seijuurou said brightly, waving around two uniforms. Nagisa ducked his face under the water and scrubbed off all of his makeup with a talent that Gou envied and pulled himself out of the pool, stretching for his clothes.

Gou looked away. Seijuurou blushed and set down the guard uniforms. "You shouldn't be watching them dress," he said, and Gou nodded. Nagisa did have pants on, though, and she was enjoying the look of his muscles. He was a lot slimmer than both Haruka and Makoto, but the muscles he did have were taut, stretching across his back and arms with a fluid grace as he wriggled into what little of a shirt he had.

Makoto pushed Haruka out of the pool then, and Gou was even more mesmerized by him. His triceps were probably the most beautiful things she had ever seen, and his _abdominal _muscles…

And then Makoto got out of the pool, hiding behind Haruka as best as he could, but she could still see how defined and broad his shoulders were. His deltoids were strong, she could see it, as well as thick cords of muscle in his arms. Seijuurou was tugging at her sleeve, but she paid him no attention. Makoto turned around to get dressed, and she found herself immersed in his defined, muscular back, smooth, uninterrupted skin covering bulky, strong-looking muscles.

Nagisa tossed a wink over his shoulder. "Like what you see, Gou-chan, Sei-chan?" he asked, smiling.

"You're all so muscular…" Gou said. Her voice was breathy and almost nonexistent.

Makoto blushed. Haruka paid no notice. Nagisa's smirk widened.

Seijuurou cleared his throat. "Let's show them out," he said, and Gou managed to tear her eyes away from Nagisa Hazuki's biceps long enough to nod. "They can go out the side door."

He pushed Nagisa along, and Makoto followed with Haruka. Gou walked after them, not about to be left behind. "Makoto," she said, and Makoto glanced back.

"Hm?" he said.

"You should stop by again sometime. I'm sure my handmaid would love to see you again," she said, and Makoto's face turned slightly red. He turned his attention back to Haruka, who was giving the pool strange looks. Nagisa was chatting loudly to Seijuurou, who was dealing with it, only rolling his eyes every ten seconds or so.

"We'll see you again, Gou-chan!" Nagisa said cheerfully, waving. "Tell Rei-chan to stop by my place again sometime! I didn't get to say good-bye! I was going to give him a good-bye kiss!"

"I'll tell him," Gou said, giggling a little. Rei Ryugazaki was easily flustered by… well, pretty much everything, but Nagisa was the best at flustering him.

* * *

**This was supposed to be up yesterday, agh.**


End file.
